7 Ways Yoga Melts Fat & Tones (infographic)

Learning to eat well is often the most difficult part of weight loss and healthful living. As Americans, it’s typically ingrained in many of us to have meals which consists of meat, carbohydrates and a small serving of something green. When we’re forced to evaluate our diets, we sometimes feel like we’re fish out of water.

Many people believe that if you workout enough, you can eat whatever you want without gaining weight. This is certainly true if you frequently lift a lot of heavy weights or if you’re a distance runner, but being slim doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy. Someone who eats a varied diet with minimal exercise could very well have better health than someone who eats junk food regularly and exercises all of the time.

When you’re thinking about a diet overhaul, it’s worth your while to consider a healthy lifestyle change and not a “get fit quick” short term resolution. It’s absolutely vital that you do everything you can to figure out how to make your dietary changes sustainable.

Yoga is an incredible weight loss tool which will help you make those long term dietary and lifestyle changes. Not only will yoga help you build strength and flexibility, it will regulate your digestive system, improve your metabolism and help you curb those unhealthy cravings. The most important benefit of yoga is that it teaches you to do what feels rights for your body, so you learn how to balance healthy choices and the occasional junk food splurge.

Lifestyle changes should never be rigid, instead you should feel comfortable eating a slice of cake periodically because it makes you feel happy. There will always be days where you want to trade the quinoa and roasted vegetables for something cheesy and fried, and that’s okay! If you only focus on deprivation, you’ll never be able to continue your new, healthful lifestyle. Balance is crucial to maintaining your wholesome lifestyle and yoga will help you get there.

After years of distance running, Andee turned to yoga to quiet her angry hamstrings. She’s since broken up with running and now devotes her time to her vinyasa flow practice and shares her story on somuchyoga.com. She especially loves arm balances, yin classes, and every kind of yoga pants on the market. somuchyoga.com